The Bummerlhaus is a gothic building in Steyr, Austria. It is the best preserved late Gothic mansion in Steyr, and is one of the finest medieval secular buildings in Austria. The oldest part of the building dates from the thirteenth century, and it is first mentioned in documents dating from 1450.
The house is a typical Steyr design, consisting of a richly decorated façade facing the square, behind which lies the house and three courtyards with arcades. It has a steep hipped roof. The façade facing the square on the first floor has a cantilevered, stone carved, wide bay window, which spans the entire elevation, adorned with blind arcades and a rich frieze with quatrefoil tracery, among which the five windows are placed asymmetrically. Above the narrow roof of the wide bay window rises a brick gable wall with blind arches of brick.
The name originates from when the building, in the 19th century, housed the Zum Goldenen Löwen inn ('The Golden Lion'). The lion on the signboard for the inn, according to the locals, looked like a dog, Bummerl meaning 'plump little plump dog', and haus, meaning house.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.